Mobile communication devices are increasingly equipped with close range wireless communication interfaces for performing wireless data transactions with external transaction devices that are located in close proximity of the mobile communication devices. For example, the close range wireless communication interfaces include Near Field. Communication (NFC) modules for a range of a few inches, and/or Bluetooth communication modules for a range of a few meters. There is also available an established infrastructure of transaction devices, such as readers for interacting with contactless cards, i.e. chip cards, so called smartcards or Integrated Circuit Cards (ICC), equipped with RFID (Radio Frequency Identifier) transceivers. This infrastructure of transaction devices makes it possible to implement a variety of different applications on the basis of the contactless cards. Examples of such contactless card applications include access control, electronic ticketing, debit payment, credit payment, electronic cash payment, accounting of print/copy costs, stand-alone locks, hotel and campus applications, etc. Corresponding functions of contactless cards are increasingly being implemented into mobile communication devices, e.g. into mobile radio telephones, tablet computers, notebook computers or other portable personal computers and communication devices. Thus, instead of carrying and using one or more contactless cards, users may more conveniently use their mobile communication devices to interact with transaction devices. Typically, however, the contactless cards as well as their corresponding implementation in mobile communication devices support only one contactless card application. For a user this may be quite inconvenient, because only one card may be active at a time and the user has to actively switch between different cards whenever another application is to be used. Furthermore, in a powered off state of a mobile communication device, only one “default” card is active (NFC cards), and, thus, only the application of that particular card is available to the user. If more than one application are to be implemented on a contactless card or a corresponding implementation in a mobile communication device, all applications must be implemented at the time when the card is being personalized using an authorizing implementation key. Consequently, these applications would all be provided and implemented by the same entity, with very little or no flexibility of the timing of implementation and modification of applications.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,255,687 describes a system for enabling users to select from available secure service providers for provisioning applications and services on a secure element installed on a device of the user. According to U.S. Pat. No. 8,255,687, the secure element is a piece of hardware, e.g. removable card or a chip such as a SIM card or microSD card, which is installed on a user's communication device. A secure element generally includes its own operating environment with a tamper-proof microprocessor, memory, and operating system. The secure element has one or more keys that are typically installed at manufacture time. A corresponding key is shared by a Trusted Service Manager (TSM) enabling the TSM to establish a cryptographically secure channel to the secure element for installation, provisioning, and personalization of the secure element while the device having the secure element is in the possession of an end user. The device includes a service provider selector (SPS) module that enables a user to select a secure service provider. The SPS module communicates with a key escrow service that distributes cryptographic keys for the secure element to the user selected secure service provider, or with a central TSM that provisions applications and services on behalf of the user selected secure service provider. The NEC controller of the user's device relies on the secure element to provide a secure operation environment for financial transactions, transit ticketing, identification and authentication, physical security access, and other functions. For example, the NFC controller interacts securely with the secure element to obtain payment credentials from the secure element and provide those credentials to an NEC-enabled point of service via the device's NFC antenna.
US 2012/0300932 describes systems and methods for encrypting mobile device communications. As explained in US 2012/0300932, mobile devices may include both shared memory space and one or more secure elements. According to US 2012/0300932, the secure element is a computer-readable storage in the memory of the mobile device or any securitized medium having memory, such as a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (“UICC”), Subscriber Identity Module (“SIM”), and the like. The secure element may include functionality for receiving messages, such as transaction messages, from shared memory applications, encrypting the received messages, and providing the encrypted messages back to the shared memory applications. For example, a mobile wallet may be stored in the shared memory and the secure element may include a security application or an authentication application that receives a message from the mobile wallet. The security application may utilize any number of suitable encryption techniques to encrypt the message, and the secure application of the secure element may provide the encrypted message back to the mobile wallet. The mobile wallet may then transmit or otherwise communicate the message to a recipient, such as a merchant or a trusted service manager (“TSM”). In a similar manner, the mobile wallet may provide received messages to the security application of the secure element for decryption. Using NFC technology of the mobile device, applications may also enable transactions. A Trusted Services Management computer communicates with the mobile devices and facilitates management of application space on the secure element, and checking of the status of the mobile device and its secure elements and applications, such as active, locked, unlocked, or terminated.